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Spring, where are you? And other dude ranch ramblings

As many of you know, we closed down a little over a week ago. It was a great winter season, and now we are all excited about spring and looking forward to summer. However, there is one minor problem. Spring doesn’t seem to be anywhere in sight. We keep getting snow! Steve and Kelli already packed up all the skis and brought out the bikes. But I’m thinking I should dig out my skis and go out today for a little jaunt around the ranch in the powder.

Getting all the bikes out got Steve excited about biking, so he packed up and headed down to Moab with Beka, Cliff and Lewis. That would be Chef Lewis. Yep, he’s become quite the outdoor adventurer. He’s been back country skiing all winter, and I had the pleasure of having him join me on a snowshoe trip just before we closed. I love that the staff get chances to get out and play on our dude ranch, not just work here.

Speaking of staff, we did say goodbye to some great members of our team at the close of the winter resort season. As always, some of the seasonal staff were moving on to other opportunities and we wish them all the best in their next ventures. We love having such talented, interesting individuals join us each season, and recognize that with their qualities, they can only stop here for a while on their way to greatness. Hopefully we can help them become better people in their time at the ranch. And as dude ranch guests, you get to enjoy their wonderful contributions. One particularly sad goodbye was to Sallie, who has lead our dining room team for the past 3 seasons. She was ready to be back in the South, closer to her family. We will all miss Sallie greatly, and appreciate all she brought to Vista Verde in her time at the ranch.
Just before Sallie left, I lured her into modeling for a shot I needed for our new brochure. This isn’t the one we used, but I thought you all would get a kick out of it. We needed a shot of a couple relaxing at the ranch to help show the romantic winter vacation aspect of our ranch stays. Sallie and the aforementioned Lewis were my victims as I was trying to find a good looking “couple” to model. No, don’t read too much into their adoring gazes….it was just work folks. But if a girl ever asks me if Lewis is a good listener, I can show her this photo and say, yes, he can sure act like he’s listening!